Rush Week Day 4
Mary wakes up feeling particularly sunny. She is remembering her dreams of dating Bash, provoked of course by his texts. She has the wild idea that perhaps she dreamed those as well, so she indulges her memory by re-reading them.
In the process she finds the text from Francis trying to get her to commit to lunch the following week. She isn't quite sure what to say. Bash and she weren't "official", and she didn't see Bash being the type of boyfriend to deny her going to lunch with a friend, even if that friend was a guy who used to be a crush. However, she had the sneaking suspicion that Francis wasn't intending for this to be a purely platonic lunch. She settles on something that might express these feelings to Francis. "I am kind of starting a new relationship, but I could probably arrange a friendly lunch sometime next week." She wants him to know that she is serious about someone else, but that she still would like to be friends like they always were growing up.
When the girls are getting ready for the day crowding around the sink in their shared bathroom, they notice a change in Mary. "You seem especially energetic and happy this morning…." Greer lets the comment hang in the air. Mary simply smiles and says, "Thank you!"
"Does this have something to do with your lunch with Francis yesterday?" Kenna asks. She is always the first to relate changes in mood or personality to boys.
"Not at all," Mary replies. She can't believe that she ever pictured herself with Francis now that the prospect of having Sebastian all to herself is real.
Lola is always more intuitive than the other girls though, so it isn't long before she chimes in. "So then it has something to do with Sebastian de Poiters…"
Mary beams. She has wanted to tell her best friends everything all morning, but she wasn't quite sure how to bring it up. "He asked me out on a 'proper date' for dinner Monday."
A chorus of: "What!?", "How could you not tell us?", and "OMG! I'm so excited." rang out in stereo. She is beaming from ear to ear. She isn't sure that the feeling can get any better.
"How did this all come about?" Kenna asks, always the first to want details.
"Well I kind of confronted him about Casey. I guess I was just jealous even though I didn't have a real reason to be. Then he made this declaration that he was interested in me since the night we got arrested, but I was meeting Francis for lunch. I was so shocked. So that night I brought his confession up and he apologized for being too late. I let him know that I wasn't with anyone. He took the opportunity to ask me out. Where am I supposed to go from here?"
"Well to dinner, silly," replied Greer.
"We'll help you get ready. Don't worry," Kenna said with a grin.
She was so happy to have these amazing ladies in her life. They always made sure to have each other's backs.
That evening they attended the ADPI social at a boutique ice cream parlor. It was fun but not quite the scene that they were looking forward. By the end of the night all the girls were convinced that Kappa was the sorority for them. This officially began the start of nerves about preference and bid day – also known as the next two days of the week.
All the girls were gushing and anxious the whole way back to the dorms. For once it seemed like they all needed a short break from one another. Aylee was all too happy to accept Olivia's invitation to go get a late dinner at one of the dining halls. Kenna put on her makeup and heels and declared that she was going to one of the local college bars to hunt for a "man". She never said anything but all the girls knew that she was jealous of most of them settling into a relationship. She wanted nothing more to have a steady guy, but she spent a great deal of her time finding guys that would never be relationship material. Lola had quietly sneaked off to the library to work on her calculus with Benjamin. And now Leith was texting Greer and practically pleading her to come hang out with him. Greer made a show of not wanting to leave Mary alone, but Mary assured her it was okay. She thought it would be the perfect time to get a little schoolwork done.
It wasn't thirty minutes into her alone time when she decided she had had enough. Her fingers flew to her phone and before she had even thought it through she had texted Bash. "Whatcha doing?"
As per his standard operating procedure he immediately paused the game he was playing the second he saw her name flash across his phone's screen. He wasn't expecting to hear from her tonight, but he was pleased to be surprised. "I'm just playing a game. You should know that this is how I spend A LOT of my nights." He was teasingly warning her about the issue that most frequently came up in his relationships. Women tended to feel like they were taking a back seat to a video game with him. It was often hard to get them to understand that these games were his work.
"You know I've never seen you play…" she hints. She is actually interested in his games. They're his work and his passion. She wants to get to know everything about him. Somehow the games just seem like a natural and easy place to start.
"You wouldn't enjoy it that much. It tends to be pretty boring for most people."
"I think I might…" she replies. She knows that she will enjoy the opportunity to see him, even if it does mean that all she gets to do is stare at him from across the room while he plays a game she thinks is utterly stupid.
He grins. She just keeps dropping these hints. He isn't stupid; he knows exactly what she is fishing for. "Are you alone, Mary?"
She isn't sure how he knows. He just seems to read her so well, like she is an open book. She doesn't want to tell him exactly how lame she is being, but she doesn't know how else to respond. "Yeah."
"Well we can't have you bored and alone. There's no telling what you'll get into. ;) You are completely right. You should be sitting on my couch watching the insanely boring spectacle of me playing games and talking to my screen. I'll pick you up in 10. I can't have you walking over here this late."
She smiles. He always knows what she needs and is more than willing to give it to her. She changes into yoga pants and a tank and packs a backpack with a book she needs to read and her laptop thinking that perhaps she can get some school work done while they're together. By the time she walks out the front door of the dorm, Bash's truck is already in the drop off lane. He leans over from the driver's seat and opens the door for her. She sets her bag on the floorboard and climbs in.
"I think I could get used to picking you up at all hours, if you always look like this," he says with a smirk. He is clearly staring at her cleavage in the low cut tank and the way the yoga pants cling to her rear. She blushes. He reaches across the truck and takes her hand in his for the drive.
When they get inside his apartment, he plays the perfect host. "Make yourself at home. Do whatever you need to do; I promise you won't offend me in the least. Can I get you anything?"
She smiles at his kindness. "Can I get water?" she asks. He walks into the kitchen and starts getting her a glass, and she takes the opportunity to ask about his game. "So what are you working on tonight?"
For a moment he is shocked that she is actually asking him this, actually interested in this. But then his mind flashes back to sitting in his truck bed next to this girl and discussing their dreams. She was such a good listener. She never made him feel like he bored her. "I'm testing a new FPS with some really amazing graphics." He continues telling her about the storyline of the game, his favorite things about the graphics and the game play, and the minor errors that they've found and suggested corrections for.
She listens intently. "Can I watch?" she asks sheepishly.
He is beyond amazed and more than a little excited to show her. "Of course! But if you get bored, just get up and do whatever you need to do. I promise you won't hurt my feelings." He's been told that he doesn't really notice what is going on in the real world around him when he is playing, and he doesn't want her to think that he doesn't care about her.
He starts the game up without his headphones so that she can hear the sound effects. She thinks the graphics make the game play like a movie in a theatre. But what is truly amazing in her mind, is the way he manages to control his character with such ease. His fingers fly over the controller and even hours into play he hasn't died once. She admires his talent and his passion from the couch where she finally gets to stare at him as much as she wants without it being the slightest bit awkward.
By midnight she is yawning frequently and quite ready for bed. She sheepishly walks across the living room to him and taps his shoulder. He pauses the game in an instant and looks up at her. "I am going to go to bed now." He glances at the clock.
Wow! It's late. I should've offered her a ride home earlier. Now she is stuck her; and that was probably not her plan, he thinks. "Sorry I stranded you here," he says looking quite ashamed.
She smiles. "I was actually hoping to stay tonight," she says uncharacteristically boldly although she is blushing ferociously.
He smirks. He thinks it is quite nice that she wants to stay here with him and sexy as hell that she is saying that this was her intent all along. "Well then how about we go to bed, Mary," he rises and sets the controller down his eyes locked on her with a burning intensity that she has never seen before.
He leads her to his bed room and lays out a T-shirt for her to sleep in, having remembered her preference for losing his basketball shorts as soon as humanly possible. He turns away from her, giving her plenty of time to change her top and hop into bed. When she tells him he can turn around he does, smiles at her, and peels off his T-shirt.
She blatantly stares at him as he crosses the space from his window to the bed. She can feel her heart racing like it is going to beat right out of her chest. He's giving her that look again, the one from the living room.
He slips into the silky sheets next to her and turns her to face him. She is hypnotized. It is physically impossible for her to break his eye contact. He brushes the hair from her eyes and whispers, "You are so beautiful." And just like that his lips come crashing down on hers. His kiss is soft and slow but intense and passionate. She soon finds herself parting her lips to grant him access and deepen the kiss. Her hands explore his bare torso, but he remains gentlemanly by not allowing his hands to stray far from her waist, her face and her neck. They lie in bed facing one another, holding on tight, and kissing passionately for longer than she thought possible. He is the one to pull away first. He kisses her on the forehead chastely and says, "I think we should get some sleep. We both have early classes, and this could go on all night." His voice is thick and husky. She loves the thought that on some level she caused that reaction in him. She nods and allows him to pull her close and stroke her hair until she falls asleep.